Taxpayers forked out $3.3 million for the cost of "cultural reports" for offenders in 2020. That's five times as much as the year prior.
These reports argue how each offender should receive a reduced sentence due to "personal, family, whānau, community and cultural background".
And it appears a cottage industry has emerged: anyone familiar with the courts system can charge up to $6,600 to write one, copy-pasting the standard lines they know will work to convince judges to cut sentences.
The Waikato Regional Council's draft submission to the Productivity Commission's inquiry into Local Government Funding and Financing reveals that the implementation of Treaty of Waitangi settlements creates significant cost pressures for Council. The submission states that "the Council wishes to work with its iwi partners in partnership but notes that the costs to do so is significant to its ratepayers".
Northland Regional Council has granted resource consent to New Zealand Refining Company Ltd to dredge the entrance to Whangarei Harbour. Dredging will allow larger crude cargoes of around 1 million barrels to be shipped to Marsden Point. Conditions of the resource consent include payments of $1.15 million (plus GST if any) to local tangata whenua to form a Kaitiaki Group.
Ratepayers at a Bay of Plenty meeting with MP Todd Muller complained about their Councils playing 'fast and loose' with their rights - especially for the need to consult with local hapu/iwi when installing a water bore on their own property. "To get a bore you have to get iwi "consent", and they want a koha, which is not a gift, it's a bribe" one woman stated.
Another woman said that koha payments are not recorded by Councils, even though they can be compulsory under the Councils' terms of operation.
Horowhenua Council’s Chief Executive confidentially agreed to provide nearly a million dollars to Te Runanga o Raukawa provided it did not object to a wastewater scheme. Chief executive David Clapperton made the confidential agreement to provide at least $880,500 to Te Runanga o Raukawa on the proviso the Runanga withdraw its objection to council’s resource consent application to make discharges from the Foxton Waste Water Treatment Plant to Matakarapa Island. “This is a huge sum of money distributed to a collective group for purposes which have not been disclosed to the public or debated by council for consideration,” said Councillor Ross Campbell.
“the third point I want to make is a broader question. It is in respect of the Resource Management Act. At the weekend we saw reported what I think is a very sad development for New Zealand. This country takes great pride in being a corruption-free country, a country where things are done upfront. We saw through the resource management process, a payment to Tainui of over $1 million. On exactly the same day the deal was drafted, an Environment Court Appeal was withdrawn. We are to believe that it is a co-incidence that the funding agreement just happens to expire on 1 January 2023, the day that the resource consent expires. This is a very sad reflection on Carter Holt Harvey. It is a sad reflection on Tainui. I believe that there are dozens of such cases. The only thing that is unique about this one is that it was reported because of the internal wrangles within Tainui”.
In some situations, consenting authorities and courts are required to deliberate on the effects of a matter on tribal “spiritual values”. The courts have accepted that ancestral land is land that has been "owned" by ancestors (i.e. it need not have remained in Māori ownership). Generally, once a relationship with Maori is recognised, consultation is imperative. A Maori official “assisting” the Auckland Council preparing a billion dollar under-water rail tunnel told Council that the proposed route would trespass upon the territory of “horotiu” the taniwha (ancestral demon) The official noted to the Committee “there are always ways to placate taniwha”.
“Greenpeace is concerned that an oil company with an exploration licence off Northland may be bribing iwi leaders to bolster support for their controversial drilling plans. Greenpeace has taken a picture of three executives from Norwegian oil giant Statoil meeting with an Iwi leader at a Wellington cafe. Campaigner Mike Smith said it goes against the Norwegian government's protocols specifying that consultation must be done through appropriate procedures and representative institutions. He said it's an effort to win over individual iwi leaders rather than engaging collectively. "They've got clear instructions from the Norwegian government that they should only deal with institutions and mandated representatives, that's our main concern."
The Chair of the District Plan Review Committee …emphasised “over and over was that they were “over a barrel”, and that to refuse to adopt the recommendation that $20,000 be put aside for ‘consultation’ with the eight iwi members of the “collective”…. would surely trigger an appeal to the Environment/High Court on the grounds of inadequate consultation, which the iwi would undoubtedly win”… The Councillor’s final swipe “was to suggest that it was her view that there was no way that the iwi would be satisfied with $20,000, and that it would “grow in time”…. It took some pretty stern talking .. to bring them back to their senses, and go along with the “blackmail” (“Peanuts for Peace” was his terminology – not bad!).
Thames-Coromandel District Council
For over 2 years the Prime Minister, the Minister of Corrections, and local MP Nanaia Mahuta have known of the problems occurring in the Waikato and the concerns raised by local Māori as they spent $1.3 million. I want to illustrate how serious those concerns are by reading out a letter I received today: “Kia ora, My name is Irene Kereama-Royal and I currently reside in Hamilton. I am a qualified lawyer and was admitted to the High Court in Auckland as a Barrister and Solicitor in 1995....
From one of a myriad of examples of soft coersion:
“The signing of a Relationship Agreement between Genesis Energy and six Huntly Marae and the Huntly based Waahi Whaanui Trust was the culmination of five years of engagement and dialogue. The agreement records the parties’ intention to establish an enduring, positive and beneficial relationship which directly addresses the effects of the Huntly Power Station on local Marae, while recognising the Huntly Power Station is a key strategic asset for Genesis Energy and New Zealand. Through regular engagement and funding provided by Genesis Energy, the parties seek to deliver the broad objectives of developing a long term relationship, assisting Marae development, fostering cultural understanding, supporting the kaitiaki role of the Marae and enhancing the environment and supporting education and training initiatives”.
Waitaha (te Runanga O Waitaha Me Mata Waka Inc) appeal against the granting of RMA consents by Waitaki District and Otago Regional Councils, claiming the Councils had failed in their resource consents process to apply the Treaty of Waitangi, Resource Management Act, New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and Local Government Act. Waitaha representative Stephen Bray said it was "not his organisation's intention to apply undue pressure or to influence anyone, but to give clear understanding of its concerns and its perspectives of the appeal process it had been part of". "Waitaha values were not tradeable, nor could they be compromised by others. Only Waitaha after consultation could alter those values"
Sir Bob Jones writes: Recently, a shop tenancy changed in a modern 17-storey Auckland CBD office building owned by my company. The previous tenant had blocked off some of its window which we now intended putting back to the conventional shop front. At this stage, sit down with a stiff drink and accept my assurance I’m not making this up. For we were then informed by a planner my Auckland office uses for council dealings (which can be laborious) that under the new council rules, changes to a building’s appearance require resource consent and we would be subject to penalty if we simply put back the window.
Waitaha (te Runanga O Waitaha Me Mata Waka Inc) appeal against the granting of RMA consents by Waitaki District and Otago Regional Councils, claiming the Councils had failed in their resource consents process to apply the Treaty of Waitangi, Resource Management Act, New Zealand Bill of Rights Act and Local Government Act. Waitaha representative Stephen Bray said it was "not his organisation's intention to apply undue pressure or to influence anyone, but to give clear understanding of its concerns and its perspectives of the appeal process it had been part of". "Waitaha values were not tradeable, nor could they be compromised by others. Only Waitaha after consultation could alter those values"
New Zealanders will pay more for their electricity and have less security of supply as a result of Maori spiritual arguments over the Resource Management Act, says National's Environment spokesman Nick Smith. He is commenting on yesterday's Environment Court decision that will allow power generator Genesis to use water from the Whanganui River for only a further 10 years. "It is political correctness gone mad when key decisions on infrastructure are made on the basis that diverting the Whanganui River for hydro development will adversely affect Maori spiritual beliefs and self-esteem," Dr Smith says.
Members of iwi Ngati Kura clamp four cars at Matauri Bay and clamp four cars belonging to students on the beach for a surfing lesson. The group, armed with a portable EFTPOS machine, demanded $800 from Kamo Intermediate principal John Smith and only unclamped the students’ cars after he had paid up.
